Reducing surface asperities

ABSTRACT

Surface asperities, such as roughness characteristics, are reduced or otherwise mitigated via the control of surface regions including the asperities in different regimes. In accordance with various embodiments, the height of both high-frequency and low-frequency surface asperities is reduced by controlling characteristics of a surface region under a first regime to flow material from the surface asperities. A second regime is implemented to reduce a height of high-frequency surface asperities in the surface region by controlling characteristics of the surface region under a second regime to flow material that is predominantly from the high-frequency surface asperities, the controlled characteristics in the second regime being different than the controlled characteristics in the first regime. Such aspects may include, for example, controlling melt pools in each regime via energy pulses, to respectively mitigate/reduce the asperities.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was made with government support under 0900044 awarded bythe National Science Foundation. The government has certain rights inthe invention.

FIELD

Aspects of the present invention relate generally to the polishing ofmaterials, and more specific aspects relate to reducing surfaceasperities via the application of different regimes for polishing.

BACKGROUND

Various materials such as metals, metal alloys and others can exhibitsurface asperities such as rough features that are desirably smoothed.Many approaches have been implemented to reducing (the height of)surface asperities. Mechanical polishing has been used to physicallyremove material in the asperities. Non-contact polishing such ascontinuous-wave (CW) laser polishing and pulsed laser polishing (PLP)have also been used to reduce the surface roughness of metals and othermaterials. In CW laser polishing, portions of the surface are melted asthe laser is scanned across the surface, and material can flow fromasperities in the melted portions. In PLP, laser pulses irradiate thesurface, melting the surface in a small area with each pulse. In thesemolten areas, surface asperities (protrusions from the surface) areregions of high surface tension and are thus “pulled down” in order tocreate lower surface tension. If this happens before resolidification,the resulting surface is smoother.

While these approaches have been useful, many aspects have remainedchallenging. For example, mechanical polishing removes material, whichcan be undesirable or wholly impractical. In CW polishing, melt depthsand heat affected depths of 100s of microns can raise issues withunderlying materials or components, and may not be suitable for deviceswith dimensions measured in 10s to 100s of microns. While PLP canprovide better control of the melt depth and the resulting heat affectedzone (HAL), surface asperities remaining after polishing can beundesirably large.

These and other problems have been challenging to the reduction ofsurface asperities, and to doing so in micro-scale devices.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to polishing orotherwise reducing surface asperities, such as those relating to roughsurface features of a material. In accordance with various embodiments,surface asperities in a material such as a metal or metal alloy arereduced in height (e.g., size) by applying energy under first and secondregimes having different operating characteristics. In the first regime,the height of surface asperities is reduced for a material surfaceregion having both high-frequency and low-frequency surface asperities,by controlling characteristics of the surface region to flow materialfrom the surface asperities. In the second regime, the height ofhigh-frequency surface asperities is reduced in the material surfaceregion, by controlling characteristics of the surface region to flowmaterial that is predominantly from the high-frequency surfaceasperities. In some implementations, the second regime operates toreduce high-frequency surface asperities generated during the firstregime.

A more specific example embodiment is directed to reducing the height ofboth high-frequency surface and low-frequency surface asperities in asurface region of a material using thermocapillary flow under a firstregime, and one or both of thermocapillary and capillary flow under asecond regime. In the first regime, energy pulses are used to generatemelt pools in the surface region, and to promote thermocapillary flow ofthe material from the surface asperities in the melt pools. Additionalhigh-frequency asperities are generated near edges of the melt pools asthe melt pools solidify. The height of these additional high-frequencysurface asperities is reduced under the second regime by applyingdifferent energy pulses to generate melt pools in the surface region. Atleast one of thermocapillary and capillary flow of the material ispromoted, to remove and/or rearrange material from the additionalhigh-frequency surface asperities.

In some implementations, the second regime operates by firstimplementing thermocapillary flow using a temperature gradient or othermelt pool condition that is lower than that of the first regime, from aheating perspective. Thereafter, capillary flow is used to furtherreduce the height of additional surface asperities generated during oneor both of the thermocapillary flow conditions.

Another example embodiment is directed to an apparatus including anenergy pulse device that applies energy pulses to a surface region of amaterial, and a controller that controls the energy pulse device togenerate and use respective energy pulses as follows. First energypulses are generated to reduce a height of surface asperities in thesurface region by controlling characteristics of the surface region toflow material from both high-frequency and low-frequency surfaceasperities therein. The second energy pulses are used to reduce a heightof high-frequency surface asperities in the surface region bycontrolling characteristics of the surface region to flow material, fromthe surface region, that is predominantly from the high-frequencysurface asperities. The first and second energy pulses are implementedusing different characteristics to promote the respective types of flowfor reducing the asperities.

The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or everyimplementation of the present invention. The figures and detaileddescription that follow more particularly exemplify various embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Aspects of the invention may be more completely understood inconsideration of the following detailed description of variousembodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram for reducing surface asperities, in accordancewith one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 2 is another flow diagram for use in reducing surface asperities,in accordance with one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 3A shows an approach for reducing a height of surface asperities ina first regime involving thermocapillary flow, in accordance with one ormore example embodiments;

FIG. 3B shows an approach for reducing a height of surface asperities ina second regime involving capillary flow, in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a scanning approach for reducing a height of surfaceasperities, in accordance with one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus for reducing a height of surface asperities,in accordance with one or more example embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows temporal profile plots, in accordance with one or moreexample embodiments; and

FIG. 7 shows overlaid plots of predicted spatial spectra after pulsedlaser micro polishing, in accordance with one or more exampleembodiments.

While various embodiments of the invention are amenable to modificationsand alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention tothe particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe scope of the invention including aspects defined in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to polishing amaterial surface region. While the present invention is not necessarilylimited as such, various aspects may be appreciated through a discussionof examples using this context.

In connection with various example embodiments, a multiple-pass, pulsedenergy polishing approach uses differing parameters to effect differentpolishing regimes for a surface region of a material. Operatingconditions are varied from one polishing pass to the next, to reduceasperities (e.g., rough surface features) across a broad range offrequencies, and subsequently to reduce high-frequency asperities suchas asperities generated during an earlier pass (e.g., as generated viahigh temperature gradient/thermocapillary flow). Such a subsequent passor passes can be implemented using a lower temperature gradient, thusmitigating the introduction of asperities while reducing the height ofexisting asperities. This subsequent-pass approach can be effected, forexample, using a capillary flow regime, or a regime involving acombination of capillary and thermocapillary flow.

As discussed herein, thermocapillary flow (e.g., Marangoni flow) iseffected via the surface tension of a material as related to temperatureand temperature gradients in melt pools generated therein. The meltpools are created during the application of pulsed energy, such as apulsed laser polishing (PLP) process, which generates highertemperatures at a center of the melt pool where an energy beam such as alaser beam or electron beam, is focused. These temperature gradientsgenerate lateral flow of the material that reduces asperities, but mayalso generate surface asperities. For instance, flowing material to anedge of a melt pool having regions of highest surface tension cangenerate an upwelling of material at these edges as the melt poolresolidifies.

As also discussed herein, a capillary regime is effected by controllingcharacteristics of a melt pool such that surface tension gradientthermocapillary flows are negligible, such as by maintaining astatic-type condition with little or no lateral flow of the material.Thermocapillary flows are thus negligible when melt durations are shortand the temperature gradient is relatively small. Accordingly, acapillary regime can be implemented using energy pulses of a dutycycle/repetition rate that results in shorter pulses than a dutycycle/repetition rate that generates thermocapillary flow, such thatmolten rough surface features in the melt pool at regions of relativelyhigh surface tension oscillate as stationary capillary waves as materialflows therefrom. The amplitudes of these oscillations, as related to theheights of asperities (e.g., roughness features, curvature), damp outbefore resolidification due to the viscosity of the molten metal. Thisapproach is used to achieve a smoother surface, relative to the surfacebefore capillary flow. Flow in the capillary regime is effective insmoothing high-frequency spatial frequency features (e.g., above whatcan be referred to as a “critical frequency”), yet not having asignificant effect on low frequency or long wavelength features.

For general information regarding capillary flow, and for specificinformation regarding an asperity “critical” frequency above which thecapillary regime can be effective and the determination thereof forspecific materials, reference may be made to Vadali, M., Ma, C., Duff e,N. A., Li, X, and Pfefferkorn, “Pulsed Laser Micro Polishing: SurfacePrediction Model,” SME Journal of Manufacturing Technology, 14, pp.307-315 (2012), which is fully incorporated herein by reference. In someembodiments, the integrated fluid flow and heat transfer model describedin this Vadali reference are implemented to predict a surface finishachievable by pulsed laser polishing using approaches as discussedherein. The surface topography is transformed into spatial Fouriercomponents that, once molten, oscillate as stationary capillary wavesand facilitate the flow of material from high-frequency surfaceasperities. In this context, a critical frequency (f_(cr)) is a functionof the duration of the molten state as:

${f_{cr} = \left( \frac{\rho}{8\pi^{2}\mu\; t_{m}} \right)^{1/2}},$where ρ is the density of the molten material, μ is the dynamicviscosity of the molten material, and t_(m) is the melt duration. Theamplitude of the spatial frequency component f_(x), f_(y) at the end ofthe melt duration is given as:

${\zeta\left( {f_{x},f_{y}} \right)}_{polished} = {{\zeta\left( {f_{x},f_{y}} \right)}_{unpolished}e^{- {\lbrack{{(\frac{fx}{fcr})}^{2} + {(\frac{fy}{fcr})}^{2}}\rbrack}}}$As implemented in accordance with various embodiments, the surfacefinish is set via the surface melt duration, which is governed by thepulse duration and the material properties. With longer pulses, thesurface of a given material is molten for a longer time. This gives moretime for the oscillations to damp out and a smoother finish can beachieved.

In connection with the above discussion and one or more embodiments, ithas been recognized/discovered that the use of such a capillary regime,in combination with (and after) using a thermocapillary regime to flowsurface asperities, can be beneficial for reducing a broad frequencyrange of asperities while also reducing residual/generated asperitiespresent after the thermocapillary regime has been carried out. Forinstance, pulsed energy polishing at relatively long melt durations inthe thermocapillary regime is used to not only reduce the amplitudes ofhigh spatial frequency asperities features, but also to significantlyreduce the amplitudes of lower spatial frequency (i.e., long wavelength)asperities. Such thermocapillary flow may introduce a feature (e.g.,circular for a circular beam shape) onto the surface by each pulse dueto the flow of liquid metal to the edges (e.g., in materials such asTi6Al4V). When overlapping pulses are used in the thermocapillaryregime, a surface ripple is created having a spatial frequency equal tothe number of laser pulses per mm. The capillary regime can then be usedto reduce these ripple asperities introduced in the thermocapillaryregime.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram for reducingsurface asperities, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.First and second material flow regimes are respectively implemented atblocks 110 and 120. These flow regimes may be implemented in accordancewith one or more embodiments herein. Referring to block 110, a surfaceregion of a workpiece is controlled to reduce both high-frequency andlow-frequency asperities. This approach may involve, for example,controlling a surface region by iteratively generating and solidifyingmelt pools, and therein facilitating flow in the material that reducesthe height (e.g., and size) of surface asperities. As shown to the rightof block 110, this can be achieved by a combination of one or morecontrol aspects, including these and/or controlling the intensitydistribution of the energy pulses in the surface region, controllingbeam shape/size, controlling beam fluence, generating thermocapillaryflow, using strong temperature gradients, using an energy beam with aspecific duty cycle/repetition rate to control the melt pool (e.g., andtemperature gradients/flow type), controlling surface tension, and usingdifferent types of energy beams. Further, this approach can generatehigh frequency surface asperities under the first regime.

Referring to block 120, the surface region is again controlled, butdifferently this time, to effect a different type of flow in generatedmelt pools that predominantly reduces high-frequency surface asperities.As is similar to that shown with block 110, to the right of block 120 isshown a variety of aspects that may be implemented with the secondregime. For example, the duty cycle/repetition rate of applied pulsescan be tailored to adjust pulse duration and the related generation ofmelt pools (e.g., for a lesser amount of time, or more time in-between)and mitigate high frequency asperities, while mitigating asperitygeneration. For a set pulse duration, the repetition rate or duty cyclecan be used to control the time between pulses in order to allow themelt pool to resolidify, and to allow heat to diffuse into the bulk ofthe workpiece (e.g., and bring the surface temperature closer to aninitial temperature prior to pulse application). Accordingly, relativelylower temperature gradients can be used to achieve flow, yet withoutgenerating significant asperities as may be effected via thermocapillaryflow in the first regime at block 110. This flow can be achieved usingcapillary and/or thermocapillary flow, and may involve multiple stepsbeginning with thermocapillary flow at a lower temperature gradient thanin block 110, followed by capillary flow, to achieve a desired surfaceroughness (smooth).

The respective regimes can be effected using one or more of a variety ofapproaches, such as via the control of characteristics of an energy beamapplied, and via the use of surface components and/or dopants at thematerial that influence flow. For a given material, different meltdurations for the respective regimes can be produced by manipulating oneor more of the incident power, beam size, beam shape, pulse duration andtime between pulses.

In some embodiments, characteristics of a surface region are controlledbased upon the type of feature in the surface region. In accordance withone such embodiment, energy pulses are generated based upon a type ofsurface feature in the surface region, such as by modeling an expectedflow of material from the specific type of surface feature and tailoringthe pulses to that type of feature. The energy pulses are used to reducea height of surface features of the type in the surface region. Such anapproach may, for example, include controlling energy profile aspects ofapplied energy to suit the particular type of surface feature, such asby controlling beam shape, energy level, pulse duration, time betweenpulses and others as discussed herein.

In various embodiments, a surface region is controlled by setting afirst surface tension condition that varies along the surface region andusing the first surface tension condition to promote the flow of thematerial under the first regime. A second surface tension condition thatis different than the first surface tension condition is set in thesurface region for the second regime. This approach may be effected byor in connection with setting a temperature gradient, or with secondsurface tension conditions that vary or that are stationary across asurface. In some implementations, setting a surface tension conditionincludes using one or both of a dopant at the surface region and asurface-active agent located at (e.g., on) a surface of the surfaceregion. For general information regarding surface characteristics, andfor specific information regarding the user of surface-active agents forinfluencing surface characteristics and Marangoni flow as may beimplemented in connection with one or more embodiments, reference may bemade to Kou, et al., “Oscillatory Marangoni Flow: A Fundamental Study byConduction-Mode Laser Spot Welding,” Welding Journal (December 2011),which is fully incorporated herein by reference.

In more specific embodiments, the first regime is effected by promotingthermocapillary flow, and the second regime is effected by promotingcapillary flow. The first regime involves generating high-frequencyasperities, such as shown in FIG. 3A. The second regime involvesreducing the generated high-frequency asperities by flowing materialtherefrom, via the generation of a melt pool under capillary flowconditions that do not promote lateral flow. This can be carried out asshown in FIG. 3B.

In other embodiments, the first regime is carried out by generating meltpools having a highest temperature at a center portion thereof and afirst temperature gradient extending from the center portion to an edgeof the melt pool. This temperature gradient is used to flow materialsfrom high and low-frequency asperities and upwells material viathermocapillary flow as the melt pools resolidify to generate additionalhigh-frequency asperities. This is carried out in each of a plurality ofoverlapping regions in the surface material, with each regioncorresponding to one of the energy pulses. In the second regime, energypulses are applied to generate melt pools having a second temperaturegradient from a center portion to an edge thereof that is smaller thanthe first temperature gradient and that mitigates upwelling of material.Viscous characteristics of the material are used in the second regime todamp oscillations of the material in the melt pools as the melt poolsresolidify.

In some implementations, the melt pools are generated for a firstduration in the first regime, before resolidifying the melt pools. Thisfirst duration is sufficient to reduce a majority of the height of thehigh and low frequency asperities to smooth a surface of the surfaceregion (e.g., over 50%, or 70% of the height). The melt pools aremaintained for a second duration before resolidifying of the melt poolsin the second regime. This second duration is different than the firstduration and sufficient to reduce the majority of the height of theadditional high-frequency asperities, thereby additionally smoothing thesurface of the surface region.

One or more parameters are used to control the application of energy toeffect material flow in the respective regimes, in accordance withvarious embodiments. Such example parameters include the following:

1. Absolute peak-to-valley height, h_(pv) (e.g., either estimated from amodel or experimentally measured), can be used as a potentialdistinguishing parameter. If h_(pv)<h_(threshold) (a threshold height),the operation is in capillary regime, or otherwise in a thermocapillaryregime. The threshold height can be chosen as:

-   -   a. The resolution of the measurement device    -   b. The average surface roughness of the resultant surface        2. An average feature slope, δ_(f) is the ratio of        peak-to-valley height (h_(pv)) of the feature resulting from        thermocapillary flows to the radius of a melt pool (r_(m)):

$\begin{matrix}{\delta_{f} = \frac{h_{pv}}{r_{m}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$3. A surface prediction model deviates significantly in thethermocapillary regimes, which can be used to distinguish betweencapillary and thermocapillary regimes.

These respective parameters may be set to suit particular types ofmaterial, and then used to control the flow in a surface region of thematerial via the generation of melt pools as discussed herein. In oneembodiment, a multi-pass approach includes a first pass that achieves areduction in surface roughness by operation in a thermocapillary regime.The parameters for one or more successive passes are chosen such thatthe value of a distinguishing parameter (e.g., as discussed above) issmaller than the parameter value corresponding to the previous pass. Incertain embodiments, a successive pass is effected via thethermocapillary regime at operational conditions that reduce asperitiesremaining after a first thermocapillary pass, and a further pass iscarried out in the capillary regime to smoothen/remove residualprocessing features from the previous pass.

In some embodiments, near-infrared laser pulses are used to polish amaterial with different pulse durations. The material is heated under afirst regime using relatively long pulse durations to generate movementof portions of the material via predominantly thermocapillary flows(e.g., Marangoni convective flows). The material is also heated under asecond regime using shorter pulse durations in which one or both ofthermocapillary and capillary flow is effected to further reduceasperities remaining after the first regime, and including asperitiesgenerated during the first regime (e.g., by using relatively lowertemperature gradients with thermocapillary and/or capillary flow in thesecond regime).

The approaches discussed herein may be used in a variety of manners,such as by tooling makers in industries including metal cutting bits, aswell as plastic injection mold tooling makers. This can be used formicro-fabricated and micro-milled parts, where surface roughnessapproaches feature size, such as those in the medical, aerospace, andelectronics industries. Accordingly, these non-contact approaches arenot only amenable to implementation with macro-scale polishingapplications, but also to micro-scale polishing as facilitated via theability to direct an energy beam to small features. These approaches canbe carried out while producing very little debris and/or removing verylittle material (e.g., negligible ablation), which also facilitates thepolishing of features with very tight dimensional tolerances. Further,these approaches can be carried out with a variety of materials, such asone or more of including nickel, aluminum, steel, tool steel, andstainless steel, as well as alloys thereof.

FIG. 2 is another flow diagram for use in reducing surface asperities,in accordance with one or more example embodiments. This approach may,for example, be used to determine conditions of the application ofenergy pulses to reduce surface asperities, as described herein.Further, this approach may be implemented in accordance with one or moreapproaches as described in the Vadali reference, discussed above.

A first step is carried out in which data is acquired for an unpolishedsurface at block 210, and data pre-processing is carried out at block220. In a second step, melt duration is estimated at block 230, and acritical frequency is estimated at block 240. In a third step,two-dimensional spatial frequency spectra are calculated at block 250,using the pre-processed data from block 220. Also in the third step, atwo-dimensional low-pass spatial filter is formulated and implemented atblock 260 with the estimated critical frequency, and the spatialfrequency spectra of the initial surface data (from block 250 and filter(from block 260) are multiplied at block 270. An inverse Fourieranalysis is carried out at block 280 in a fourth step, in which thepredicted polished surface is characterized.

In some implementations, a two-dimensional numerical axisymmetric heattransfer model is used to estimate melt durations at block 230, and usedto compute the corresponding critical frequencies at block 240. The timefor which the surface is molten depends on the time history (duration)and magnitude of laser pulse energy incident on it. The laser pulseenergy in the model, for a given pulse duration, is chosen to beslightly less than that required for ablation to mitigate material loss.Example estimated maximum melt durations and critical frequencies arelisted in Table 1 below.

FIG. 3A shows an approach for reducing a height of surface asperities ina first regime involving thermocapillary flow, in accordance with one ormore example embodiments. Further, FIG. 3B shows an approach forreducing a height of surface asperities in a second regime involvingcapillary flow, as can be implemented with FIG. 3A. Beginning with FIG.3A, thermocapillary flow is introduced in a surface region of amaterial, with a melt pool generated at 310 and a HAZ region below at320. The thermocapillary flow (represented by arrows) directs materialtoward edges of the melt pool, reducing the height of surface asperitiesand resulting in upwelling as shown at 314 and 316. As shown in FIG. 3B,the second regime is implemented to generate a melt pool 311 and flowmaterial via oscillating capillary waves 312. These capillary waves workto reduce the height of high-frequency surface asperities remainingafter the first regime.

The application of energy pulses as described herein is carried out in avariety of manners, to suit respective embodiments. FIG. 4 shows ascanning approach for applying energy pulses and reducing a height ofsurface asperities, in accordance with one or more example embodiments.At 410, a scanning path is shown for a 1 mm×1 mm sample, with the pathfollowing the solid line in the direction of the arrows therein. Theinset 420 shows a close-up view of parallel scanning paths as shown at410, with a 50% overlap of the paths in the y direction, and an 80%overlap of the respective melt pools in the x direction. Each melt pool(melt pool 422 is labeled by way of example) is melted and solidified asdiscussed herein. Asperity reduction is effected in a first pass alongthe path as shown via thermocapillary flow having a high temperaturegradient, reducing both low-frequency and high-frequency asperities.Asperities generated during the first pass are further reduced in asecond pass using a lower temperature gradient and involving one or bothof thermocapillary and capillary flow. This second pass may, forexample, follow the same path as shown at 410, and use the same ordifferent amount of overlap (and melt pool size) as shown at 420.

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus 500 for reducing a height of surfaceasperities, in accordance with one or more example embodiments. Theapparatus 500 may, for example, be used in connection with the specificembodiments described in the following discussion, and/or withembodiments described above (e.g., in connection with the methods shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, in generating the melt pools in FIGS. 3A and 3B, andin implementing the scanning approach shown in FIG. 4).

The apparatus 500 includes a processor 510, control card 511 and powersupply 512 that work (e.g., as a controller) to control and operate theapplication of laser pulses and generation of a melt pool in a workpiece505. An energy pulse device implemented as a laser 515 is controlled togenerate laser pulses under first and second regimes as discussedherein. The pulses are passed via a mirror 520, variable beamsplitter525, and scan head 530 that scans the workpiece 505. A power meter 535can be implemented to detect and provide feedback indicating the powerof the applied beam. A stage 540 may also be implemented to move theworkpiece 505 in the Z direction as shown, or in other directions tosuit particular applications. Accordingly, one or both of the laserscanning and stage actuation can be used to control the application ofthe beam to the workpiece.

The apparatus 500 operates in the first regime by generating energypulses to reduce a height of surface asperities in a surface region ofthe workpiece 505 by controlling characteristics (e.g., the melt pool)of the surface region (e.g., the melt pool), using the energy in thepulses. This melt pool flows material from both high-frequency andlow-frequency surface asperities in the surface region. The apparatus500 operates in the second regime by generating and using energy pulsesto reduce a height of high-frequency surface asperities in the surfaceregion, such as those that may be introduced during the first regime.Similarly, characteristics (e.g., the melt pool) of the surface regionare controlled via the second energy pulses to flow material, from thesurface region, that is predominantly from the high-frequency surfaceasperities. These second energy pulses are different than the firstenergy pulses, so as to effect a different temperature gradient anddifferently flow material in the melt pool (e.g., by flowing less or nomaterial via thermocapillary flow, thus mitigating high-frequencyasperities without introducing asperities via the flow and upwelling).

In some embodiments, the apparatus 500 is configured and arranged toindependently modify two or more of power, pulse duration and pulse rateof the energy pulses. For example, the laser 515 can be controlled toapply pulses having two or more of different power, different durationand different rate (e.g., time between pulses), for each of therespective regimes. As may be implemented in connection with one or bothof the independent power/duration application, one or more components inthe apparatus 500 can be implemented to adjust other aspects of theapplied pulses such as scan rate, beam size, and beam path.

The various discussion provided hereafter may relate to one or moreexperimental embodiments of the present invention. These experimentalembodiments can be useful in that they provide several reference pointsand illustrative examples. Notwithstanding, the specifics of eachexperimental embodiment may not be required in (or even particularlyrelevant to) all embodiments of the present invention.

In accordance with an embodiment, the effects of laser pulse durationwith the aid of pulse laser micro polishing (PLμP) experiments arecarried out by three different pulse durations, 0.65 μs, 1.91 μs and3.60 μs. To eliminate the effects of laser beam intensity distribution,the experiments are performed with approximately Gaussian beams.Evidence of Marangoni flows (also known as thermocapillary flows) atlonger melt durations are recognized, and greater reduction in surfaceroughness is achieved than at shorter melt durations. Experiments arecarried out on Ti6Al4V alloy surfaces produced using micro end milling.The cross sections of the polished region are imaged to measure the meltdepth and the depth of the heat affected zone for each pulse duration,to observe their effects and to derive more knowledge about the process.Ti6Al4V can be used due to its wide applications in medical implants.Such experiments may, for example, be carried out with the system 500shown in FIG. 5.

Micro end milling is used to face samples using a 2-flute, 1-mm-diametertungsten-carbide (WC) tool (e.g., part SS-2-0394-S available fromPerformance Micro Tool of Janesville. Wis.) at a spindle speed of 40,000rpm (e.g., model HES-510 high-speed spindle from NSK of Ann Arbor,Mich.) and 800 mm/min feed rate (e.g., a TM-1 3-axis CNC mill availablefrom HAAS automation of Oxnard, Calif.) corresponding to a chipload of10 μm. The chipload also corresponds to the wavelength of the featurescreated on the surface. Water-based metal working fluid is used duringthis process, to produce an average surface roughness (for an evaluationarea, of ˜0.09 mm2) under these machining conditions of 205.1±14 nm andthe area peak-to-valley height, of ˜3.0 μm.

Two lasers of similar wavelength and intensity profiles, which can beused for experimentation include: (1) A 1064-nm-wavelength, 250 W (CW)neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser, and a1070-nm-wavelength, 200 W (CW) fiber laser. The lasers are directed bystatic mirrors into a scan head to allow for high-speed, two-dimensionalscanning at beam velocities of up to 1.5 m/s (e.g., using a hurrySCANfrom Scanlab of St. Charles, Ill.). The scan head is controlled by acontrol card (e.g., ForeSight from LasX Industries of White Bear Lake,Minn.), with an f-theta objective having a focal length of 100 mm. Az-axis manual stage is used to adjust the laser beam diameter and toaccommodate samples of varying thickness.

Temporal characteristics and pulse profiles of the fiber laser can bemeasured. To account for non-uniform temporal profiles, both thefull-width-half-maximum pulse duration (τ_(H)) and the 10% pulseduration (τ₁₀) are measured, with τ_(H) being used for theoreticalpredictions. FIG. 6 shows (from left to right) plots of the temporalprofile for ˜0.65 μs pulses generated using the Nd:YAG laser inQ-switched mode at a pulse frequency of 4 kHz, and pulse profilesgenerated by the fiber laser with pulse durations of ˜1.91 μs and ˜3.60μs at frequencies of 40 kHz and 25 kHz, respectively. Different pulsefrequencies are used to achieve desired pulse durations. The temporalpulse profiles are measured at different time instances and are stable(e.g., with less than about 10% error). The power for PLμP is variedusing an external beam splitter to ensure no variation of temporal pulseprofiles with the commanded laser power.

The beam intensity profiles are measured for the two laser sources, withthe measured focal beam diameter for the Nd:YAG laser being ˜85 μm andthat for the fiber laser being ˜30 μm. The intensity distribution forboth the lasers is close to Gaussian distribution.

The surface finish can be predicted using an approach such as that shownin FIG. 2, with Table 1 showing predicted melt durations and criticalfrequencies, and Table 2 showing predicted polished roughness andpercentage reductions in the average surface roughness for the threepulse durations. FIG. 7 shows overlaid plots of predicted spatialspectra after PLμP for the three pulse durations and an unpolishedsurface, for x-spectra (left) and y-spectra (right).

TABLE 1 Pulse Maximum melt Critical frequency, duration (μs) duration,t_(m-max) (μs) f_(or) (mm⁻¹) 0.65 1.164 115 1.91 2 980 72 3.60 4.982 56

TABLE 2 Pulse S_(α)- S_(α)- Reduction duration Unpolished Predicted inS_(α) (μs) (nm) (nm) (%) 0.65 193.9 138.0 18.6 1.91 211.6 127.5 39.73.60 206.5 94.4 54.3Example pulsed laser polishing parameters are as follows:

0.65 μs Type of laser 250 W CW Nd: YAG Pulse frequency (kHz) 4 Melt pooldia. (μm) ~56 Scan speed(mm/s) 30 Average power (W) 0.46 ± 0.03 Energyper pulse (mJ) 0.115 ± 0.008 Melt duration (ns) 1164 Critical frequency(mm⁻¹) 115 1.91 μs Type of laser 200 W CW/Modulated Fiber Laser Pulsefrequency 40 Melt pool dia. (μm) ~27 Scan speed(mm/s) 150 Average power(W) 3.88 ± 0.05 Energy per pulse (mJ) 0.097 ± 0.001 Melt duration (ns)2980 Critical frequency (mm⁻¹) 72 3.60 μs Type of laser 200 WCW/Modulated Fiber Laser Pulse frequency (kHz) 25 Melt pool dia. (μm)~27 Scan speed(mm/s) 100 Average power (W) 3.16 ± 0.02 Energy per pulse(mJ) 0.126 ± 0.001 Melt duration (ns) 4982 Critical frequency (mm⁻¹) 56For each pulse duration, a variation of laser power is carried out toselect the power that results in high or the highest reduction insurface roughness. The laser beam is scanned to follow a zigzag (raster)pattern over an area of 1 mm×1 mm; such as shown in FIG. 4. The laserscan speed is chosen so that spot overlap is approximately 80% of themelt pool diameter. The line overlap of the raster is chosen to beapproximately 50% of the melt pool diameter. The polishing can becarried out in an inert environment, created by a jet of argon flowingparallel to the sample surface, to minimize oxidation and cracking ofTi6Al4V alloy. The polishing may also be carried out in another inertenvironment, in air, or in a vacuum.

Table 3 shows example results of PLμP, in which average roughnessreductions up to about 70% are achieved on the samples.

TABLE 3 Pulse S_(α)- S_(α)- Reduction duration Unpolished Polished inS_(α) (μs) (nm) (nm) (%) 0.65 193.9 152.4 21.3 1.91 211.6 66.5 68.6 3.60206.5 57.0 72.4Interferometry can be used to image surface height data for suchpolished (and unpolished) regions. Surface spikes that are an artifactof the measurement can be removed via software, and low frequenciescorresponding to waviness can be filtered using a high pass Gaussianfilter with cut-off wavelength, 0.08 mm (of 12.5 mm-1). Significantreduction in the amplitudes of the frequency components can be achieved,at 1.9 μs and 3.6 μs pulse durations. Spectra for all the threepolishing conditions effectively remove the high spatial frequency (>100mm-1) components. The amplitudes of the low spatial frequency components(25-100 mm-1) polished at 1.91 μs and 3.60 μs are smaller than thecorresponding amplitudes polished at 0.65 ρs.

The melt zone and heat affected zone (HAZ) are measured by cuttingsamples across the polished region, mounting and mechanically grindingthe samples. Final polishing can be done using a 3 μm diamond particlepaste on nap cloth. The mechanically polished cross sections areultrasonically cleaned in ethanol for 1 min followed by chemical etchingwith a solution of ammonium bifloride (NH4HF2) for 1 min. The etchedcross sections are observed under an optical microscope, at 500×magnification. Such cross sections may, for example, be represented asshown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. In addition, for 0.65 μs polishing, longerpulse durations result in deeper melt pools as there is no cleardistinction between the melt zone and the HAZ. Table 4 shows examplemelt depths, HAZ thicknesses and melt pool diameters, as may be achievedin connection with one or more example embodiments:

TABLE 4 Pulse Melt HAZ HAZ Melt duration Depth thickness Depth pool dia.(μs) (μm) (μm) (μm) (μm) 0.65 * * 2.5 56 1.91 4.2 8.3 12.5 27 3.60 5.57.9 13.4 27

Table 5 shows spatial frequencies corresponding to features, relative toa number of laser pulses incident per mm in the scanning direction andline overlap in the scanning pattern (e.g., as in FIG. 4). The spatialfrequencies corresponding to these features are calculated for each casebased on the processing parameters shown above.

TABLE 5 Pulse Spatial frequency (mm⁻¹) duration (μs) pulses/mm Lateraloverlap 0.65 133.33 83.3 1.91 266.7 77 3.60 250 77The introduction of additional features, as may be demonstrated bysurface ripples in cross-section, is suggestive of the presence ofthermocapillary flows (i.e., Marangoni flow). The frequency of thisripple corresponds to additional features observed in the spatialfrequency spectra. The cross sections also suggest a flow pattern of themolten fluid, moving outwards from the center of the molten pool,resulting in the additional spatial features at the boundary of eachmelt pool. The formation of such surface ripples is a confirmation ofMarangoni flows for materials with surface tension that decreases withincreasing temperature. Table 6 shows experimental versus theoreticalroughness:

TABLE 6 Pulse Experimential Theoretical duration (μs) S_(α) (nm) S_(α)(nm) 0.65 152.4 138.0 1.91 66.5 127.5 3.60 57.0 94.4The Marangoni convection is driven by the temperature gradient ofsurface tension, and the steep gradient of the laser beam intensitydistribution can be used to generate a temperature gradient in the meltpool, with thermocapillary flows dominating for longer melt durations(e.g., 1.91 μs and 3.60 μs as used herein).

In accordance with one or more embodiments, these pulse durations can beused to effect dominant thermocapillary flows via one or both ofresistance to fluid flow and long melt durations. Resistance to fluidflow (viscous forces) decreases with deeper melt pools, caused by longerpulse durations. The surface tension forces resulting from temperaturegradients in the melt pool can overcome the reduced viscous forcesresulting in thermocapillary flows. Longer melt durations providesufficient time for a greater volume of molten metal to flow from thecenter to the outer edge of the melt pool before resolidification.

The forces that create thermocapillary (e.g., Marangoni) flow can beachieved when sufficient temperature gradients exist on the surface of amelt pool and the material's surface tension is temperature-dependent.Whether or not the flow (displacement of material) is deemed significantcan depend upon the application. Using these approaches, resultingripples can be of sufficiently small amplitude such that the resultingsmoothing on melt pool can result in lower average surface roughness.Further, these approaches can be carried out without liquid-solidseparation at the edge of the melt pool, mitigating undercutting in theformation of the ripples. The pulsed laser polishing can be done in theabsence of ablation (melting only); therefore, the effect of vaporpressure on melt pool deformation and flow can be ruled out.

Operating in the thermocapillary regime at longer pulse durations can beused to achieve greater than 70% reduction in the surface roughness.Thermocapillary flows introduce higher frequency spatial features on thesurface and attenuate much lower frequency components than pulsed laserpolishing at shorter pulse durations. Within the range of parametersstudied, the resulting surface is smoother in the presence ofthermocapillary flows because of the relatively low amplitude of thefeatures that are created. These features can be subsequently reducedvia capillary flow.

It has been recognized that surface features of wavelengths greater thanthe diameter of the melt pool cannot be attenuated or are difficult toattenuate when surface tension forces dominate (e.g., when body forcessuch as gravity are negligible). The critical wavelength correspondingto 3.60 μs is 18 μm as discussed herein is of the same scale as the beamdiameter of 27 μm. Accordingly, increasing the pulse duration anyfurther for this laser beam diameter may not further improve the surfacefinish. However, the critical spatial frequency concept may not be validfor the 3.60 μs pulse duration discussed herein, with thermocapillaryflow.

In connection with these experimental (and other) approaches,surprising/unexpected results were recognized in that the experimentalroughness reduction was much higher than those predicted in the cases of1.91 μs polishing and 3.60 μs polishing, as can be exemplified viatwo-dimensional spatial frequency spectra, and that additional featuresare introduced in high frequency regions corresponding to the number oflaser pulses per mm. Thermocapillary flows were confirmed, via surfaceripple at the same frequency as the number of laser pulses per mm.Accordingly, Marangoni flows are implemented in PLμP process, to achieveup to and/or exceeding 70% reduction in asperities at longer pulsedurations. Additional high frequency spatial features that areintroduced on the surface during this approach are of relatively smallamplitude, and low frequency components are significantly attenuated,resulting in low surface roughness. Further flow (e.g., Marangoni flowat lower temperature gradients, or capillary flow) can be used toattenuate the introduced high frequency spatial features.

Various embodiments as described herein may be implemented withcircuit-based components that carry out one or more of the operationsand activities described herein and/or shown in the figures. Forexample, one or more of the above-discussed embodiments are carried outwith discrete logic circuits or programmable logic circuits thatimplement the respective operations/activities, such as in one or morecomponents shown in FIG. 5. In certain embodiments, one or more computercircuits is programmed to execute a set (or sets) of instructions(and/or configuration data) that, when executed, cause the appropriatemethod to be carried out. The instructions (and/or configuration data)can be in the form of firmware or software stored in and accessible froma memory (circuit). In one example, first and second modules include acombination of a CPU hardware-based circuit and a set of instructions inthe form of firmware, where the first module includes a first CPUhardware circuit with one set of instructions and the second moduleincludes a second CPU hardware circuit with another set of instructions.

Certain embodiments are directed to a computer program product (e.g.,nonvolatile memory device), which includes a machine orcomputer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may beexecuted by a computer (or other electronic device) to perform theseoperations/activities.

Various embodiments described above and shown in the figures may beimplemented together and/or in other manners. One or more of the itemsdepicted in the drawings/figures herein can also be implemented in amore separated or integrated manner, or removed and/or rendered asinoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with particularapplications. For example, asperities in different types of material canbe reduced using the various approaches as described herein. As anotherexample, different manners in which to control the flow of material inmelt pools as described herein can be combined or used separately. Inview of this and the description herein, those skilled in the art willrecognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: means for reducing aheight of surface asperities in a material surface region having bothhigh-frequency surface asperities and low-frequency surface asperities,by controlling characteristics of the surface region under a firstregime to flow material from the surface asperities; and means forreducing a height of high-frequency surface asperities in the materialsurface region by controlling characteristics of the surface regionunder a second regime to flow material that is predominantly from thehigh-frequency surface asperities, the controlled characteristics in thesecond regime being different than the controlled characteristics in thefirst regime.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means forreducing the height of the surface asperities and the means for reducingthe height of the high-frequency surface asperities include an energypulse device and a controller circuit, wherein: the energy pulse deviceincludes circuitry and is configured and arranged with the controllercircuit to generate energy pulses, and the controller circuit isconfigured and arranged with the energy pulse device to control theenergy pulse device to generate the energy pulses for reducing theheight of the surface asperities and reducing the height of thehigh-frequency surface asperities.
 3. An apparatus comprising: an energypulse device configured and arranged to generate energy pulses; and acontroller circuit configured and arranged to control the energy pulsedevice to generate the energy pulses for: reducing a height of surfaceasperities in a material surface region having both high-frequencysurface asperities and low-frequency surface asperities, by controllingcharacteristics of the surface region under a first regime to flowmaterial from the surface asperities; and reducing a height ofhigh-frequency surface asperities in the material surface region bycontrolling characteristics of the surface region under a second regimeto flow material that is predominantly from the high-frequency surfaceasperities, the controlled characteristics in the second regime beingdifferent than the controlled characteristics in the first regime. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller circuit is configuredand arranged to control the energy pulse device to generate the energypulses for: reducing the height of both high-frequency and low-frequencysurface asperities under the first regime by iteratively generating andsolidifying melt pools with the energy pulses at different portions ofthe material surface region; and in the second regime, reducing a heightof high-frequency surface asperities generated by the iterativegeneration and solidification of the melt pools under the first regime,by iteratively generating and solidifying additional melt pools with theenergy pulses in the material surface region.
 5. The apparatus of claim3, wherein the controller circuit is configured and arranged to controlthe energy pulse device to generate the energy pulses for: controllingcharacteristics of the surface region under the first regime by applyingthe energy pulses for setting a first temperature gradient at thesurface region and using the first temperature gradient to heat andpromote the material flow; and controlling characteristics of thesurface region under the second regime by applying the energy pulses forsetting a second temperature gradient at the surface region, the secondtemperature gradient being different than the first temperaturegradient, and using the second temperature gradient to heat and promotethe flow of the material that is predominantly from the high-frequencysurface asperities.
 6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controllercircuit is configured and arranged to control the energy pulse devicefor: controlling characteristics of the surface region under the firstregime by generating and using first energy pulses to flow the material;and controlling characteristics of the surface region under the secondregime by generating and using second energy pulses that are differentthan the first energy pulses to flow the material that is predominantlyfrom high-frequency surface asperities generated under the first regime,while leaving material that predominantly corresponds to low-frequencysurface asperities.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one ofgenerating and using the first energy pulses and generating and usingthe second energy pulses includes applying energy pulses to a portion ofthe surface region to generate a melt pool in the surface region duringthe application of each energy pulse, and solidify the melt pool duringa period between each energy pulse.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, whereingenerating a melt pool in the surface region during the application ofeach energy pulse includes for the first energy pulses, maintaining themelt pool for a first time period by applying pulses of a firstduration, and for the second energy pulses, maintaining the melt poolfor a second time period that is different than the first time period,by applying pulses of a second duration that is different than the firstduration.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein generating and using thefirst energy pulses includes generating and using energy pulses at firstduty cycle and first repetition rate that maintain the melt pool for afirst time period; and generating and using the second energy pulsesincludes generating and using energy pulses at a second duty cycle andsecond repetition rate that are different than the first duty cycle andfirst repetition rate, and that maintain the melt pool for a second timeperiod that is different than the first time period.
 10. The apparatusof claim 9, wherein: the energy pulse device includes a laser; andgenerating the first energy pulses and generating the second energypulses include generating heat pulses with the laser and operating thelaser via the controller circuit at the respective duty cycles andrepetition rates.
 11. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein generating andusing the first energy pulses includes generating and using energypulses that are different than the second energy pulses in at least oneof: duty cycle and repetition rate, power, pulse duration, time betweenpulses, and intensity distribution of the energy pulses in the surfaceregion.
 12. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein generating and using thefirst energy pulses includes using the first energy pulses to set afirst surface tension condition that varies along the surface region,and using the first surface tension condition to promote the flow of thematerial; and generating and using the second energy pulses includesusing the second energy pulses to set a second surface tension conditionthat varies along the surface region, the second surface tensioncondition being different than the first surface tension condition, andusing the second surface tension condition to promote the flow of thematerial.
 13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one ofgenerating and using the first energy pulses and generating and usingthe second energy pulses includes generating energy pulses based upon atype of surface feature in the surface region, and using the energypulses to reduce a height of surface features of the type in the surfaceregion.
 14. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller circuit isconfigured and arranged to control the energy pulse device to generatethe energy pulses for: under the first regime, applying the energypulses for setting a first surface tension condition that varies alongthe surface region and using the first surface tension condition topromote the flow of the material under the first regime; and under thesecond regime, applying the energy pulses for setting a second surfacetension condition that varies along the surface region, the secondsurface tension condition being different than the first surface tensioncondition, and using the second surface tension condition to promote theflow of the material under the second regime.
 15. The apparatus of claim3, wherein the controller circuit is configured and arranged to controlthe energy pulse device to generate the energy pulses for reducing theheight of the surface asperities and reducing the height of thehigh-frequency surface asperities by applying the energy pulses forreducing the height of surface asperities while removing substantiallynone of the material in the surface regions.
 16. The apparatus of claim3, wherein the controller circuit is configured and arranged to controlthe energy pulse device to: reduce a height of both high-frequencysurface asperities and low-frequency surface asperities in a surfaceregion of a material, by generating and applying first energy pulses togenerate melt pools in the surface region and to promote thermocapillaryflow of the material from the surface asperities in the melt pools, andvia the thermocapillary flow, generating additional high-frequencyasperities near edges of the melt pools as the melt pools solidify; andreduce a height of the additional high-frequency asperities under asecond regime by generating and applying second energy pulses togenerate melt pools in the surface region and to promote at least one ofthermocapillary flow and capillary flow of the material from theadditional high-frequency asperities, the second energy pulses beingdifferent from the first energy pulses.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16,wherein generating and applying the first energy pulses includesgenerating melt pools having a highest temperature at a center portionthereof and a first temperature gradient extending from the centerportion to an edge of the melt pool, generating the additionalhigh-frequency asperities includes upwelling material via thethermocapillary flow as the melt pools resolidify in each of a pluralityof overlapping regions in the surface material, each regioncorresponding to one of the energy pulses, and generating and applyingthe second energy pulses includes generating melt pools having a secondtemperature gradient from a center portion to an edge thereof that issmaller than the first temperature gradient and that mitigates upwellingof the material, flowing the material from the additional high-frequencyasperities in the melt pools, and using viscous characteristics of thematerial to damp oscillations of the material in the melt pools as themelt pools resolidify.